The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) marked its 15th edition in Lagos from 1 to 7 November 2026, under the theme “Frames of the Future: Africa’s Creative Intelligence.”
Across seven days, the festival presented 135 titles, including 23 feature films, alongside the second edition of the Africa Film & Content Market. It was also the first year AFRIFF charged for tickets. Here’s how it all unfolded.
Opening night: Lady comes home
AFRIFF 2026 opened on Sunday, 1 November with Lady, the debut feature from Nigerian director Olive Nwosu. The film follows a Lagos taxi driver saving for a new life in Freetown, whose routine is upended when she starts driving a group of sex workers, including a childhood friend she hasn’t seen in years, on their nightly rounds.
After winning the Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble at Sundance and screening at Berlinale, Lady finally played to a home crowd.
The opening gala drew a mix of Hollywood and Nollywood names. Guest of honour Djimon Hounsou attended alongside Hollywood actors Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors, who said they had come to support the industry and explore opportunities for collaboration. Nollywood was represented by Rita Dominic, Toni Tones, Osas Ighodaro, Wale Ojo, Juliet Ibrahim, Somkele Iyamah, Darey and Deola Art-Alade and comedian Real Warri Pikin, with AFRIFF founder Chioma Ude hosting.
Bad Blood gets its world premiere, and the crowd talks back
On day two, Bolaji Ogunmola’s Bad Blood had its world premiere at Landmark Centre. Directed by Yemi “Filmboy” Morafa, the psychological thriller follows two couples forced into impossible choices around the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ policy on blood transfusions.
Shammah Agah’s performance as Vera was a highlight, and the screening was loud in the best Nollywood way, with audience members shouting at the screen throughout. The cast stayed for a Q&A and met fans afterwards.
The films
Beyond the premieres, the programme travelled across the continent. Highlights included:
- Slum Bomber (Uganda, dir. Maureen Jolly Nankya)
- Hadda (Algeria, dir. Ahmed Riad)
- Which Way (dir. Jide Okeke)
- Variations on a Theme (South Africa, dirs. Devon Delmar and Jason Jacobs), winner of a Tiger Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam
- Mabanda (dir. Kang Quintus)
- One Woman One Bra (Kenya–Nigeria, dir. Vincho Nchogu)
- Abeni (Nigeria, dirs. Esse Akwawa and Samuel Olasehinde)
- Her Daughters’ Mother (Nigeria)
Kaelo Iyizoba’s short The Spectacular Death of Prisca screened as a Special Presentation, and Steve Babaeko’s short Ramat screened in the shorts programme.
The festival programme closed on 6 November with It’s the Blackness, the directorial debut of actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim, a dark comedy about two Black graduates in Britain.
The Business of film: the Africa Film & Content Market
The second Africa Film & Content Market ran from 2 to 5 November at Twinwaters, Lekki, with a target of 1,500 participants, more than double the 700 who attended the first edition in 2025. Delegations came from Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Sweden and the United States.
Sessions covered positioning African stories for global audiences, women in film, and co-production across the continent. In the co-production session, producer Josh Olaolu described the job as a mix of finance, organisation, collaboration and problem-solving, adding: “A producer has to care about people.”
Meagan Good was scheduled for a fireside conversation, “The Art of Becoming: Craft, Identity and Reinvention,” and Djimon Hounsou was set to present his short film Calabash. On 6 November, Rise Interactive Studios founder Toyosi Akerele hosted an AI filmmaking and content lab with TikTok.
The Globe Awards
The festival closed on Saturday, 7 November with the AFRIFF Globe Awards, hosted by Keturah King and Osas Ighodaro, with performances from Timi Dakolo, D’banj and Qiqi, alongside dance troupe Go-Creationz.
The top prize, Best Feature Film, went to Slum Bomber, Ugandan director Maureen Jolly Nankya’s boxing drama. The Tropic Sun and His Eyes, directed by Elsie Junior St Preux, was the other big winner of the night, taking both Best International Feature Film and Best Screenplay.
There were wins for Nigeria too. Kaelo Iyizoba’s The Spectacular Death of Prisca, the Rita Dominic-led love letter to classic Nollywood, added Best Short Film to the Honourable Mention it earned at TIFF. Sarah Karen won Best Actress for One Woman One Bra, the Kenya–Nigeria co-production directed by Vincho Nchogu.
| Category | Winner |
| Best Feature Film | Slum Bomber (dir. Maureen Jolly Nankya) |
| Best International Feature Film | The Tropic Sun and His Eyes (dir. Elsie Junior St Preux) |
| Best Screenplay | The Tropic Sun and His Eyes (Elsie Junior St Preux) |
| Best Actress | Sarah Karen, One Woman One Bra |
| Best Short Film | The Spectacular Death of Prisca (dir. Kaelo Iyizoba) |
| Best Student Short Film | The Little Soldier (dir. Roxan Karmi) |
| Best Documentary Film | Miss Jobson (dir. Amanda Sans Pantling) |
| Best Documentary Short | Throne of Wood (dir. Sadegh Kazemi) |
| Best Animation Film | Lice N’ Shine (dir. Maria Byoma) |
Herbert Wigwe Awards
The ceremony also presented the Herbert Wigwe Award, named after the late Access Holdings chief executive, to three honourees:
- Danielle Brooks
- Kene Okwuosa
- Francis Nebot
The same night, rapper Odumodublvck premiered Rise of the Machine, shot by TG Omori, as an AFRIFF premiere.
Final thoughts
Fifteen editions in, AFRIFF still feels like the place where Nollywood meets the rest of the continent, and increasingly the rest of the world. This year it brought a Sundance winner home, gave a Nollywood thriller its first audience, tested whether Lagos audiences will pay for festival cinema, and sent a Rita Dominic short home with a Globe Award.
Were you at AFRIFF 2026? Tell us your highlight in the comments.
